125th Anniversary

Our Roots

The earned graduate degree came of age in the United States in the 1860s. Until that time, advanced degrees were essentially honorary acknowledgements of devotion to a discipline. In 1866, the University of the City of New York, known since 1888 as New York University, became one of the first institutions in the country to award a doctoral degree for successful completion of academic work. Read more

Graduate Education at a Research University

At its founding, the Graduate Division offered courses in just thirteen subjects, with most students studying philosophy, economics, languages, literature or pedagogy. This limited curriculum was further narrowed by an early decision to move the field of pedagogy into a separate school, consistent with the prevailing vision for graduate education to be distinct from professional fields. Read more

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